Steve Peters in right spot to cure England's penalty disorder in Brazil

Dr Steve Peters has been working with Liverpool this season and helped Team GB's cycling squad before the Beijing Games. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

"As extra time went on around me I spent half an hour worrying about the only kick that counted – my penalty. Nearer and nearer. My pulse raced madly. My head was pounding. Penalties, penalties, penalties. Fuck it."

Steven Gerrard's account from the 2006 defeat by Portugal of the gut-wrenching turmoil that the prospect of penalties visits on England's footballers is perhaps the starkest example of the peculiar hold they have on the national psyche. England have been knocked out of six of their last nine major tournaments on penalties and it is not only the players but fans and the media who are caught in their grip.

Yet Roy Hodgson, who has hired Dr Steve Peters to link up with his squad from the moment they gather for their farewell Wembley friendly against Peru on 30 May, said the lauded sports psychiatrist had not been brought on board specifically to help with England's penalty demons.

"Whether or not a psychologist can help in that respect? I expect he might be able to, if you were the type of person who was open to that type of thing. As far as I'm concerned, it may happen, we may have a penalty shoot-out again," said Hodgson.

For Hodgson anything that Peters can do to give his players an edge makes him a worthwhile addition to the touring party. The "mind mechanic", who helped unlock British Cycling's potential before their Beijing gold rush, will have a watching brief – with players encouraged but not obliged to make use of his talents.

The England manager had read Peters' book The Chimp Paradox – on how successfully to master the mind's "inner chimp" – and heard about his work through Sir Dave Brailsford. His addition to the England camp embodies the more open-minded approach that the FA has sought to embrace in recent years.

"When he was prepared to make himself available, I'd have been very foolish not to take advantage of that. But there's no pressure on him whatsoever. He already works at Liverpool with some of the players, so I'm sure they'll talk to him when he's around just as they do at Liverpool," said Hodgson.

"I've made it perfectly clear to him I don't expect anything from him other than to be there, to look and to observe. Let me know anything you've seen that can help me do my job better and be available for the players. But I don't intend to say to the players: 'This is Steve Peters, you must go to see him.' They will go to him if they want to go to him."

While football has been guilty of having a "not invented here" attitude to outside help, Hodgson has gone out of his way to emphasise how keen he is to learn lessons from other sports and disciplines.

"As Steve is always very quick to point out, our first reaction is always emotional and then the human side kicks in. If he can help control that emotional side better than we can, if he can help us deal with the players better …" said Hodgson.

"I expect nothing from Steve Peters, nothing at all. If we win or lose on penalties, it won't be because Steve Peters has joined us. But there may be a penalty-taker who has spent a bit of time with Steve Peters who takes a better penalty. If so, that's terrific and I'll be more than delighted."

The Liverpool contingent will be used to having Peters around as he has been working with Brendan Rodgers' squad since last season. When news of his appointment was announced before England's friendly win over Denmark, Gerrard delivered a lengthy eulogy about his powers. But Hodgson said he expected others in his squad to seek Peters out.

"I've got a very curious group of players, an open-minded group of players. I wouldn't be at all surprised if quite a few others wanted to come and speak to him and find out what he's got to say, how they can better prepare mentally for matches."

The former manager Glenn Hoddle lamented that it had taken so long for the English game to embrace the techniques that other sports had long taken for granted.

"In 1981 I worked as a player with a sports psychologist. I learned to deal with things off the pitch that helped me on the pitch. It makes me laugh that we've got this 26 miles of water that has cut us so far adrift mentally. That has been our problem over the years," he said.

"Now players are more open-minded. These players have been working with psychologists since they were 17 years old at academies. I'm just trying to say that it's been around for years in other sports and other countries and we always seem to be playing catch-up."

Peters may be looking forward to getting away. The Liverpool side that has praised his contribution to their success has imploded over the past fortnight and Ronnie O'Sullivan, who has been effusive in his praise for Peters, lost the World Snooker Championship final in Sheffield on the same night that Gerrard and co were throwing away a three-goal lead at Crystal Palace.

Hodgson said he was hopeful that Peters would also work with his coaching team to improve the way they related to players. But he joked that Peters, who spent 12 years at Rampton high-security hospital working with individuals with personality disorders before Brailsford hired him in May 2008, would have his work cut out.

"He will have a lot more work to do with me because, at my age, my chimp has become very mischievous."

Sign up for the Guardian Today

Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.